For someone like me who likes a balance between adventure and routine, I was missing one of my favorite routines: my Saturday morning stroll at the farmers market and all the possibilities that it generates for my weekly cooking. If you are in Portugal next week there’s a great event going on, you can check it here, it’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know organic producers throughout the country.

This Saturday I came back home with beautiful and fragrant strawberries and a whole bunch of spring greens, including sugar snap peas and the first courgettes I bought this year. And, immediately thoughts of making a polenta to go along with these spring greens came up. Polenta (or corn grits) is super versatile and quite cheap. You can cook it to a creamy, porridge like consistency and eat like that or you can fry or bake it, giving it a crunchy crust. Here I made a creamy, dreamy polenta with a touch of white wine that makes it utter delicious.

While I was in Canada I made polenta several times and kind of got the hang of it, so here are my tips to achieve a delicious and creamy polenta every time:

The cooking times will vary from brand to brand, more than following the recipe, go on tasting and only turn the heat off when the polenta is creamy and not grainy;

The water you need to add also varies a lot. So keep some hot water nearby to go on adding until you get the right consistency;

It is better to whisk and not to stir with a spoon, it will help the polenta to be light and creamy and not stuck to the bottom of the pan. Also it does require regular stirring so you will exercise a bit too;

Use a high pan or pot because it splatters and you don’t want to be hit by boiling hot polenta;

Leave the polenta a little bit more liquid than what you want when you serve because it will keep on absorbing liquid;

Unless you plan to cut it to fry or roast, serve your polenta immediately;

Don’t be scared by these tips. Making polenta is easy!

If you don’t have sugar span peas, use normal peas, fresh or frozen. Another combination that works great with polenta is asparagus and mushrooms. Well, after you master making polenta you can serve it with countless combinations, be creative and if you try other ideas let me know your favorites in the comment box.

Ingredients

100gr./ ½ cup of polenta

¼ cup white wine

50gr. parmesan cheese

2 small courgettes

120gr. of sugar snap peas

1 small handful of coriander

1 tsp of ghee (or olive oil)

2 cloves of garlic

Salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

½ a lemon

In a pot or high pan boil 6x more water than the amount of polenta. When the water is boiling add the polenta while you whisk vigorously. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Whisk every couple of minutes until the polenta absorbs the water and it is creamy, it takes around 20-25 minutes. You may need to add more water so keep hot water in hand. When it’s all creamy add the white wine and cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the butter and cheese (if using), cover with the lid ad let it seat for two minutes. Give it a stir and it is ready to serve.

Meanwhile cut longitudinal stripes of courgette with a vegetable peeler. In a pan melt the ghee and saute the courgette, peas, garlic, coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice for 3 minutes. Serve on top of the polenta with a drizzle of olive oil and an extra sprinkle of grated cheese if you like.